Federer, Nadal on course for Wimbledon semifinal clash

Published by AP

Rafael Nadal remains unbeaten against Roger Federer on the Roland Garros clay; Getty Images
Roger Federer, seeded No.2 at Wimbledon ahead of second-ranked Nadal, could face the Spaniard in the last four at the All England Club.

Following the Wimbledon draw ceremony Friday, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been set up for a potential semifinal meeting, with Novak Djokovic possibly awaiting that showdown’s winner in the final.

With defending champion Djokovic in the top half of the men’s bracket, he’d only need to defeat, at most, either No.2-seeded Federer or No.3-seeded Nadal — barring early-round upsets — because they were drawn together in the bottom half.

Nadal is ranked No.2, and Federer No.3, but that was reversed by Wimbledon’s seeding system, which takes into account grass-court results over the past two years.

The possible men’s quarterfinals are No.1 Djokovic against No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas, and No.4 Kevin Anderson, last year’s runner-up, against No.6 Alexander Zverev in the top half of the draw.

NEWS: Novak Djokovic ready for Wimbledon title defence

Federer is projected to face No.8 seed Kei Nishikori while Nadal could in the quarters face fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the bottom half. Nadal-Thiem would be a rematch of the 2018 and 2019 French Open finals, both won by Nadal.

Nadal starts off against qualifier Yuichi Sugita of Japan, and Federer’s first opponent is Lloyd Harris, a 22-year-old South African making his Wimbledon debut.

As defending champion, Djokovic will get things going at Centre Court on Monday against Philipp Kohlschreiber, a former top-20 player who was a 2012 quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and beat Djokovic on a hard court at Indian Wells, California, this year.

Intriguing first-round pairings men’s include Thiem against 2017 semifinalist Sam Querrey; 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini against 21-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, No.19 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime against Vasek Pospisil in an all-Canadian match-up, and Nick Kyrgios against Jordan Thompson in an all-Australian match-up.

The winner of Kyrgios v Thompson will likely face Nadal, who was upset by Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2014.

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